Friday, February 27, 2015

Star Trek actor and Three Men and a Baby director Leonard Nimoy has passed away. Nimoy also directed the 3rd and 4th films in the Star Trek franchise, The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home. He was 83 years old.

HERE WE GO! Awards Season has finally come to an end and we have now reached our final destination, OSCARS SUNDAY! Below are all the nominees along with my predictions in each of the 24 categories, including the winners and nominees of all the major precursor awards that have happened up to this point. I'll let you know who I think will probably win, who could win, and who I would be happy to see win even though it's not very likely (my wishful thinking).

WILL WIN: BoyhoodCOULD WIN: BirdmanWISHFUL THINKING: The Grand Budapest Hotel
The closest Best Picture race in a long time, too close to call actually, so I flipped a coin 12 times (once for each year it took to film Boyhood) and Boyhood won 7 to 5. There is a method to my madness.____________________BEST DIRECTORWes Anderson – The Grand Budapest HotelAlejandro G. Iñárritu – BirdmanRichard Linklater – BoyhoodBennett Miller – FoxcatcherMorten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

WILL WIN: Richard Linklater, BoyhoodCOULD WIN: Alejandro
G. Iñárritu, BirdmanWISHFUL THINKING: Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
This one seems like it will go to Linklater as a reward for sticking with Boyhood for a dozen years, but that pesky Directors Guild win by Iñárritu means this one is not a done deal.____________________BEST ACTORSteve Carell – FoxcatcherBradley Cooper – American SniperBenedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation GameMichael Keaton – BirdmanEddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

WILL WIN: Michael Keaton, BirdmanCOULD WIN: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of EverythingWISHFUL THINKING: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
With Jake Gyllenhaal from Nightcrawler out of the race (the single greatest performance by any actor this year) this race comes down to the comeback kid (Keaton) versus the formidable up-and-comer (Redmayne). My gut says they'll go with the veteran Keaton on the assumption that Redmayne will have more chances down the road.____________________BEST ACTRESSMarion Cotillard – Two Days, One NightFelicity Jones – The Theory of EverythingJulianne Moore – Still AliceRosamund Pike – Gone GirlReese Witherspoon – Wild

WILL WIN: Julianne Moore, Still AliceCOULD WIN: Felicity Jones, The Theory of EverythingWISHFUL THINKING: Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
This one goes to Moore who finally gets to be the bride after being the bridesmaid for so many years. A long time coming. Pike was incredible though.____________________BEST SUPPORTING ACTORRobert Duvall – The JudgeEthan Hawke – BoyhoodEdward Norton – BirdmanMark Ruffalo – FoxcatcherJ.K. Simmons – Whiplash

WILL WIN: J.K. Simmons, WhiplashCOULD WIN: Edward Norton, BirdmanWISHFUL THINKING: Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Simmons has made a career out of making the most out of smaller roles and stealing nearly every scene he is in. With Whiplash he basically serves as co-lead and dominates the screen like few others in recent memory. Norton might actually be better than Keaton in Birdman, but it won't be enough.____________________BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSPatricia Arquette – BoyhoodLaura Dern – WildKeira Knightley – The Imitation GameEmma Stone – BirdmanMeryl Streep – Into the Woods

WILL WIN: Patricia Arquette, BoyhoodCOULD WIN: Emma Stone, BirdmanWISHFUL THINKING: Arquette... DUH!
This is Arquette's award. Just give it to her right now. 'Nuff said.____________________BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYBirdmanBoyhoodFoxcatcherThe Grand Budapest HotelNightcrawler
WILL WIN: BirdmanCOULD WIN: The Grand Budapest HotelWISHFUL THINKING: Nightcrawler
The fact that the Birdman script was ineligible for the Writers Guild makes this one a little tougher to predict, so it didn't go head to head with The Grand Budapest Hotel in the most important precursor in this category. My gut says Birdman probably would have won, so I think it wins here. This is Nightcrawler's only nomination though, so there is always the chance it snags a victory as a consolation for being snubbed elsewhere.____________________BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYAmerican SniperThe Imitation GameInherent ViceThe Theory of EverythingWhiplash

WILL WIN: The Imitation GameCOULD WIN: WhiplashWISHFUL THINKING: The Theory of EverythingThe Imitation Game seemed like a strong candidate across the board until it really failed to win in any major category except screenplay. I don't see it going home empty-handed, so this seems like the most likely place for it to be rewarded, especially after winning both the Writers Guild and the USC Scripter Award. Beware of Whiplash and The Theory of Everything though.____________________BEST FILM EDITINGAmerican SniperBoyhoodThe Grand Budapest HotelThe Imitation GameWhiplash

WILL WIN: BoyhoodCOULD WIN: WhiplashWISHFUL THINKING: The Grand Budapest Hotel
There's no clear front-runner here, but I'm thinking that Sandra Adair will get rewarded fro stitching together 12 years of footage for Richard Linklater's Boyhood. Unless the voters feel Whiplash was more their tempo (sorry), which is possible.____________________BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNThe Grand Budapest HotelThe Imitation GameInterstellarInto the WoodsMr. Turner

WILL WIN: The Grand Budapest HotelCOULD WIN: InterstellarWISHFUL THINKING: Budapest is best
The one characteristic of each and every Wes Anderson film that stands out the most is the fantastic Production Design. This year the Academy finally recognizes that brilliance.
____________________BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYBirdmanThe Grand Budapest HotelIdaMr. TurnerUnbroken

WILL WIN: BirdmanCOULD WIN: The Grand Budapest HotelWISHFUL THINKING: IdaBirdman MIGHT win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, or it COULD lose all of those. Weird, right? Cinematography on the other hand is all but assured for Birdman, though the stunning Back-and-White work in Ida would be my own personal preference in this category.____________________BEST SOUND MIXINGAmerican SniperBirdmanInterstellarUnbrokenWhiplash

WILL WIN: BirdmanCOULD WIN: WhiplashWISHFUL THINKING: Whiplash sounds great to me.This one could go one of three ways; Birdman, Whiplash or American Sniper. Any one of three would be a solid choice, so I'm going with Birdman, the one that the Cinema Audio Society deemed best.
____________________BEST SOUND EDITINGAmerican SniperBirdmanThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesInterstellarUnbroken

WILL WIN: American SniperCOULD WIN: BirdmanWISHFUL THINKING: BirdmanThis category tends to go with the loudest BOOM! and that is American Sniper, with all it's warzone gunshots and explosions. If Birdman takes Sound Mixing it might win here too though.
____________________BEST ORIGINAL SCOREThe Grand Budapest HotelThe Imitation GameInterstellarMr. TurnerThe Theory of Everything

WILL WIN: The Theory of EverythingCOULD WIN: The Grand Budapest HotelWISHFUL THINKING: The Grand Budapest HotelI
won't be flabbergasted if Desplat pulls out
the victory for The Grand Budapest Hotel (it would be well deserved) but my money is
on Jóhann Jóhannsson and his Theory of Everything score.
____________________BEST ORIGINAL SONG“Everything Is Awesome” –The Lego Movie“Glory” – Selma“Grateful” – Beyond the Lights“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” – Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me“Lost Stars” – Begin Again

WILL WIN: "Glory" from SelmaCOULD WIN: "Everything is Awesome" from The LEGO MovieWISHFUL THINKING: "Glory" from Selma"Everything is Awesome" might have made the bigger splash in pop culture, but "Glory" is a glorious and absolutely relevant anthem and will have the full support of all those disappointed with all of Selma's other perceived snubs.
____________________BEST VISUAL EFFECTSCaptain America: The Winter SoldierDawn of the Planet of the ApesGuardians of the GalaxyInterstellarX-Men: Days of Future Past

WILL WIN: Dawn of the Planet of the ApesCOULD WIN: InterstellarWISHFUL THINKING: Guardians of the GalaxyThis one comes down to incredible settings (Interstellar) versus impressive character animation (Dawn of Apes). My guess is that they'll go with the photo-realistic Apes. Rocket and Groot were great in Guardians though, too bad they'll probably be passed over.
____________________BEST COSTUME DESIGNThe Grand Budapest HotelInherent ViceInto the WoodsMaleficentMr. Turner

WILL WIN: The Grand Budapest HotelCOULD WIN: Into the WoodsWISHFUL THINKING: Budapest is best, again.Disney's fairy tales Into the Woods and Maleficent likely cancel each other out here, paving the way for another well deserved technical category win for Budapest.
____________________BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLINGFoxcatcherThe Grand Budapest HotelGuardians of the Galaxy

WILL WIN: Guardians of the GalaxyCOULD WIN: The Grand Budapest HotelWISHFUL THINKING: Guardians rule this galaxy, er category.This one's close but Guardians makeup is more showy and therefore more obvious and therefore more likely to win.____________________BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMIda (Poland)Leviathan (Russia)Tangerines (Estonia)Timbuktu (Mauritania)Wild Tales (Argentina)

WILL WIN: IdaCOULD WIN: LeviathanWISHFUL THINKING: Ida, beautiful Ida.With the tremendous Mommy and Force Majeure out of the picture this one likely comes down to Ida and Leviathan. Both are impressive and terribly sad, but Ida is simply marvelous and I think it will wow the voters the most. This category is pretty wide open though, as Wild Tales and Timbuktu also have their own loud cheering sections as well.
____________________BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILMBig Hero 6The BoxtrollsHow to Train Your Dragon 2Song of the SeaThe Tale of the Princess Kaguya

WILL WIN: How to Train Your Dragon 2COULD WIN: The BoxtrollsWISHFUL THINKING: The LEGO Movie wins via Write-In vote.One of the best films of the year, regardless of type, was The LEGO Movie. Since it's out of the picture here the award likely goes to the well received blockbuster sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2.
____________________BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMCitizenFourFinding Vivian MaierLast Days in VietnamThe Salt of the EarthVirunga

WILL WIN: CitizenFourCOULD WIN: VirungaWISHFUL THINKING: Virunga pulls on the heartstrings of voters and wins.CitizenFour is a strong film about an important subject (the government spying on it's own people), and it has won every award under the sun, so it likely wins the Oscar. But Virunga is probably a better film and also shines a light on an important subject (the protection of mountain Gorillas against corporate greed and civil war in Africa) so a win would be huge for this worthy cause.
____________________BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMAyaBoogaloo and GrahamButter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)ParvanehThe Phone Call

WILL WIN: The Phone CallCOULD WIN: Boogaloo and GrahamWISHFUL THINKING: AyaThe short films are always the toughest races to call, and the live action films this year are all wonderful (except Butter Lamp, which was a snoozefest in my opinion), but The Phone Call has the biggest names (Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent) and the most support on the ShortsHD website dedicated to the Oscar nominated short films, so that's the one I'm going with. Boogaloo and Graham won at BAFTA, so don't rule it out either. I also wouldn't be disappointed with a victory for Aya or Parvaneh, as both are very good as well.
____________________BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILMThe Bigger PictureThe Dam KeeperFeastMe and My MoultonA Single Life

WILL WIN: The Dam KeeperCOULD WIN: FeastWISHFUL THINKING: A Single LifeOther than Me and My Moulton, which was just okay, all of the other nominees are quite good. Feast and A Single Life are crowdpleasers, while The Bigger Picture and The Dam Keeper are the most visually pleasing and emotionally heartfelt, but I think The Dam Keeper might be the best of the bunch. The voters at ShortsHD agree as well, barely, so that's my pick and I'm sticking to it.
____________________BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECTCrisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1JoannaOur CurseThe Reaper (La Parka)White Earth

WILL WIN: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

COULD WIN: Joanna

WISHFUL THINKING: ???

This is the ONLY category where I failed to see a single nominee, so I'm going by the trailers and the votes at ShortsHD alone and picking Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1. Don't take my word for it though, this is a wild guess.

____________________

There you have it, my picks in all 24 Oscars categories. Last year I correctly predicted 22 categories. This year features way more races that are almost too close to call, so I'm thinking a score of 17 or 18 would actually pretty solid this year. In a few hours we'll know for sure.